The Russian capital's love affair with lattes and cappuccinos has been squarely in the sights of Seattle-based Starbucks for years. So why hasn't a city with a gold mine of a coffee-lover market seen its first Starbucks?
An enterprising Muscovite named Sergei Zuykov can explain.
During Russia's financial crisis in 1998, Zuykov's car alarms dealership was foundering, so he poured his money into acquiring the Russian rights to foreign trademarks. Then, for the right price, he sold the rights to the companies that had established those trademarks elsewhere in the world, effectively forcing them to pay a toll for using their own corporate identities in Russia. . . .
[Z]uykov wants to make Starbucks his biggest prize yet. The $6.4 billion coffee giant has been eyeing Moscow since 1997, when it registered its trademark with Russian authorities.
Starbucks had three years to begin doing business in Russia to keep its trademark registration active in the country. That time lapsed, and in 2002 a company co-owned by Zuykov obtained the Russian rights to the Starbucks name.
Details here from the Chicago Tribune.